The Atlanta Hawks bested the Brooklyn Nets, in a contentious-affair, 120-116, at State Farm Arena, to open their 2024-25 campaign. Hawks’ star, Trae Young, iced the game with a pair of free throws with two seconds remaining in the fourth.
Young played brilliantly to open up his seventh season as an NBA-pro. He finished with a double-double of 30 points and 12 assists. Young shot 7-16 from the field, 2-6 from three, and went 14-16 from the free-throw line. He also chipped in 5 rebounds, one steal and a block.
Onyeka Okongwu had his best night as a Hawk. He finished with a career-high, 28 points, on a VERY impressive 11-12 from the field. Clint Capela did draw the start over Okongwu, on his way to 6 points and 7 rebounds in 20 minutes, but Okongwu ended up playing more with 28 minutes of action. If ‘double-O’ is going to play like this moving forward, he may make it easier for Quin Snyder to insert him into the starting rotation for the Hawks.
Things did get heated with 8:03 remaining in the fourth, when Nets center, Nic Claxton, clobbered newly-acquired Hawk, Dyson Daniels, on a fast-break lay-up attempt. No punches were thrown, but both teams had to be separated, and Claxton was ultimately ejected by the officiating crew.
Daniels had a good start to his Hawks’ tenure, ending with 15 points and 5 steals, in 35 minutes.
Number one overall pick, Zaccharie Risacher, scored his first-NBA points, on his first-NBA shot attempt, a three-pointer with 3:14 seconds remaining in the first quarter. From there, Risacher struggled from the field going 2-8 overall, and 1-4 from three. He ended up seeing 19 minutes of action in his debut.
Atlanta hosts the Charlotte Hornets, Friday, at State Farm Arena, in a battle of division foes. Tip-off for that one is at 7:30 p.m. eastern.
